Reviews

How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

lolo_e's review against another edition

3.0

Well written series of short stories and anecdotes that weave together to create a life story for the Garcia de la Torre family members, but I would have enjoyed deeper character development for each sister, and also the mother and father. Intriguing that the storytelling unfolds in reverse chronological order.

joeystarnes's review against another edition

4.0

I am enjoying this immensely, but worrying that my boys will despise it. They have a choice of In the Time of the Butterflies or Finding Miracles as well, so maybe they'll enjoy the political slant of Butterflies instead.

jwrchappell's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

athenenoctua11's review against another edition

4.0

I read this so fast - it flowed so easily and the language was well-chosen and precise. There was a hint at the beginning that there was going to be some magic realism in this, but it was just a hint - it sticks mostly to reality - but it still reminded me of reading Laura Esquível and Isabel Allende books, especially the parts about the girls' childhood in Dominica. I enjoyed their relationship with the local people, the maids and local sayings and superstitions. And their quirky childhood personalities are so well described.

There was only thing that puzzled me and it was the structure of the novel. The first part seemed like a different book from the one at the end - I was enjoying it but I enjoyed the subsequent parts a lot more - they were funnier and more heartfelt (is it because the girls had lost their accents in the beginning and had therefore lost their more interesting side?). I didn't really understand why it was structured going back in time, especially since the title is about them losing their accents. Personally, I would have been happy to learn about their childhoods alone and maybe chronologically. Also I didn't always understand why some chapters were written in the first person and others in the third.

Regardless, I really enjoying getting to know this big family - perhaps Mami and Papi most of all.

kathleenlouiseg's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

emungai's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This collection of vignettes, told in roughly reverse chronological order, ends with a haunting story about a young girl who wounds a kitten and is haunted by the ghost of the mother cat: “There are still times I wake up at three o’clock in the morning and peer into the darkness. At that hour and in that loneliness, I hear her, a black furred thing lurking in the corners of my life, her magenta mouth opening, wailing over some violation that lies at the center of my art.”

The vibe of that sentence pretty well sums up the vibe of this book, I think. Haunted by tragedy, placelessness, taboos, the spectres of girlhood turning to womanhood… every story in this book had an eerie quality that I admired even if I didn’t quite enjoy.

amybenes's review against another edition

3.0

Well written and an interesting choice to write from present to past, but I did not enjoy this one. There wasn’t really a point? Just kind of a collection of random stories that jumped from sister to sister (and sometimes parent). But the sisters were too similar/indistinct, so I had a hard time keeping track.

m_readss's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

3.0

justrosaelena's review against another edition

2.0

I wanted to like this book, but I could not care for any of the characters. I respect the themes of feminism, immigration, and the American dream. It just wasn't the right novel for me.

ashrocketship's review against another edition

2.0

DNF-ing at 19% because stylistically it's just not the read for me, which is unfortunate because the stories being told are great, but not so great that I'm willing to slog through the prose to get at them.